input wanted on scope for a hunting rifle

[Chickentoast]

Leica Magnus!

 

[RKBArmory]

Hello. We're a new Supporting Vendor here. All we do is buy and sell used optics (and some mounts).

Here is a like-new Leupold VX-6HD 3-18 for a great price: https://www.rkbarmory.com/product/leupold-vx-6hd-3-18x44-cds-zl2/

 

[mi650]

That 2-16z8i with the flex turret looks perfect as well, although the swaro website does not seem to indicate whether that is sfp or ffp? Regardless, unfortunately thats a $4000 scope when you include the turret, which is roughly double the maximum Im able to spend. Any experience with tracking on the z5 scopes? I have heard people say they dont track in the long-term and have seen them lose zero, but its really hard for me to separate fact from fiction on these things, this being the interweb.

I'm a little late to the party, but in about the same boat looking for a scope.

Swarovski only makes SFP. Kahles is their tactical line, and afaik, are all FFP.

 

[mi650]

I really know nothing about Trijicon quality and have never seen one in person--are they comparable to the nightforce, s&B, March, etc scopes others have suggested?
Regardless, I do not like the reticles in the NX8 or the NXS 2.5-10 compact, or the trijicon scope, they are quite busy to my eye for hunting. A simple crosshair or a much more subtle mil-dot type reticle is a must for me--the P3 mildot reticle on the s&B precision hunter scope mentioned above is about as busy as I'll go with.

Never heard of UTG either--based on the "Amazon.com $135, free returns" pricetag I'm assuming this is a sleeper that punches in the same weight class as the very best optics that sit atop the rifles used by the worlds best airsoft competitors?

Depends on the model. I have several 4.5-30 AccuPowers and a TenMile. I'd say the glass is about equal to my ATACR, but overall, I prefer the Trijicons.

Low light performance is my primary concern for this scope. I suspect I'm going to end up with a Swaro Z6, but a SFP TenMile is on my short list.

 

[Macintosh]

I got fed up looking and not able to get hands on any of these so I bought a S&B Klassik 3-12 with capped turrets and the P3L reticle. I figure this way there is no worrying about a turret spinning, no worrying about tracking reliability, just whether it holds zero or not--hopefully it lives up to the S&B reputation for durability. I'll use the mil dots for holdovers past MPBR, and since i'm really only looking for 400 yard accuracy in the best case on deer-sized game--which is a rarity anyway--I figure I can be precise-enough with 1-mil dots to make a good shot that way. The scope I got is made in Germany not Hungary, so not sure whether thats on a model-by-model basis in the klassik series or if it means it's older stock, but while i haven't had any opportunity to put it through its paces the scope looks good, weight and size is very reasonable, glass is better than I'm used to, and the reticle is very usable. A friend remarked that it was a "standard mil dot reticle", but honestly most of the ffp mil dots I've looked at are either on much higher magnification scopes or they try to put too much elevation in the reticle, and consequently the center section of the reticle is just too small to be at all useable on low power for me, and I have zero interest in a busy PRS-style reticle for hunting even if folks say it's not busy...guess I'm too old and crusty or something but I'll save that for shooting at steel. Anyway, for anyone else, this reticle just looks like a standard duplex reticle at low power (maybe a bit on the fine side but very useable under all but the worst conditions), and the mil-dot center section only becomes apparent at higher magnification where you can see it anyway. So far I like it and I would say for me it's a better, less-busy hunting reticle than the various SFP versions of milling reticles.
If I have one complaint on first impression it's that the illumination isn't visible until you are on about the level-5 setting, and at higher levels of illumination you see a red haze around the outside of the field of view that I imagine is reflected light from inside the scope. It's not a dealbreaker for me as I don't think I'll use it much at the highest settings, but you do need to turn it up a bit to use the illumination on lower magnifications so I don't think its nearly as good as the illumination on even some of my very middle-of-the-road quality scopes (vortex pst, athlon etc).

 

[FuhQ]

Hi all--wondering about getting some input on scopes I should be looking at for a hunting rifle. I am a casual precision rifle shooter, by no means an expert, but I have gotten a bit spoiled by my nicer scopes on my heavier rifles and want to put a good scope on a hunting rifle. I have found this crowd to be pretty hard on scopes so I am interested in feedback. Details are below, but the kicker is I'd like the ability to dial for longer shots but since so much of its use is at point blank range it has to be a reliably locking turret that wont get spun accidentally when carrying and handling, and needs a reliable return to zero and a very clean reticle. So far the closest I have found to what I'm looking for is the leupold VX6 2-12 CDS, but also the vx5 2-10 cds or 3-15cds, or the vortex light hunter 3-15--however I have heard people badmouth tracking on these scopes as well as long term durability, and I dont like the reticle options on the vortex. What other scopes should I be looking at? Any other feedback?
Thanks in advance

• What is the platform for the scope? it's a lightweight bolt action hunting rifle, it currently has a leupold vx3 3.5-10 which I cant really dial at longer ranges and the field of view at lowest power is narrower than I'd like.
• What cartridge are you shooting? 7mm-08
• What is your intended use for the scope? used mainly for deer-sized game, 80% in northern new england big woods (short range is the rule) and 20% in open ag country or the rockies and west where longer shots are possible.
• What type of conditions will you typically shoot in? daylight, but also with typical shooting conditions being pretty dark in the woods just around legal shooting light
• What are the typical distances you intend to shoot? hunting, 90% at point-blank-ish range, but some use to 400 yards, very rarely out to 500; but the ability to practice at ranges out to 600-800 is helpful. I only need about 6-7 mils of travel max and most of its shooting longer than point-blank would be in the 1-3.5mil range.
• Are there any specific specifications you would like? must be SFP with a very clean reticle, must have a very wide field of view--really dont want anything more than 3x on the low end, and 2x would be better--most of its use is at lowest-power in an extremely noisy background (eastern woods) and often very fast reactive shots at unexpected directions; good low-light optics are important, durability and reliability is very important, weight is relatively important. Want to be able to dial elevation for longer shots, but without the risk of a turret accidentally spinning. I prefer mils over moa but can do both. I'm approaching 50 years old and my eyes are going, so having a bit more magnification than I used to need would be nice, but definitely dont need more than 12-15x.
• What is the price range you can afford? I'd rather spend as little as I need to to get a reliable scope I'll be happy with in the long term, I'm kind of fishing for what that number needs to be to get something that'll keep me happy long term. At this point I'm looking between $500-$1200+ and just not sure where I need to land. If I absolutely need to spend more I'll just wait a year or two Not looking to spend over $2k regardless--do I need to for a second focal plane scope?

Old thread, but I’ll save you some time… S&B, TT, ZCO, Hendoldt, Zeiss, Kahles, and nothing else… Otherwise, you’re labeled on here as “a poor”. Welcome to the optics forum, enjoy.